Russia

Japan to Close All 6 Economic Centers in Russia

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo (L), Reuters (R)
The Japanese national flag, and the Russian national flag

Jiji Press

16:46 JST, September 11, 2025

Tokyo, Sept. 10 (Jiji Press)—The Japanese government said Wednesday that it plans to close all of its six economic centers in Russia because of strained relations between the two countries following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine..

“Amid major changes in the situation around Japan-Russia relations, the Japan Centers have fulfilled their historic roles,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference.

Russia’s unilateral suspension of the memorandum of understanding on the Japan Centers in January was another reason to close them, he said.

The Japan Center in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok underwent an on-the-spot inspection by the Russian Internal Affairs Ministry on July 30 and Aug. 26, Hayashi said.

The decision to close the Japan Centers was communicated to the Russian side through diplomatic channels on Aug. 27, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The Japan Centers were established in Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod, starting in 1994, to train personnel involved in economic ties between the two countries.